Chapter 48 - 48 - Comprehension

Under the thick dome of the luscious canopy of the woods, the sound of steel clashing could be heard. The figure of a dark-haired youth, wearing nothing but a thin, body-fitting black, short-sleeved t-shirt was running at an unbelievable speed towards a blonde-haired slightly older but still fairy-looking woman.

As the boy reached a suitable range, he suddenly bent his knees and jumped up, pushing himself off the ground. At the same time, he swiftly raised his exotic sword above his head.

The single-edged long and slender blade had a slight curve to it. The boy's hand tightly gripped the longer than usual grip under the circular guard. The sun's brilliance was reflected with a silvery hue, giving way to the not-so-average weapons exotic beauty.

"Haaaaaa!" Way too immersed in their training, the black-haired boy, Lucien looked at his opponent with a battle-hungry gaze. His thirsty outlook way overpassed the limits of what would be normal for something that at a first glance seemed to be normal training.

Still, his opponent didn't seem to be phased at all when her bright azure blue eyes met with the boy's darkness. Using only her right hand, she raised her simple, straight short sword into the air, ready to block the incoming heavy strike.

Her sword placed in front of her head into an inverted, horizontal stand, she stood steady as the two blades clashed together once again. Metal clashing against metal, their collision sent out a smaller, but audible shockwave, a loud clinking noise reverberating at their surroundings.

Despite the powerful attack of the hungering boy, the short blade absorbed the powerful, vicious blow with ease. The woman even managed to exert a bit more force with her arm, pushing back against the charging assault of the youngster and throwing him back a couple of steps.

As the boy fell back on the ground, he wobbled back several steps before he managed to steady himself. His look had a vicious, fervent grin, he didn't seem to mind that his attack failed for the umpteenth time. No, instead his hunger for battle grew more and more as time passed.

Still, despite the crazed outlook, he retained his sanity, albeit it was increasingly harder to control this deep-seated desire inside him. Reaffirming his hold on his weapon, he raised it in front of his body in a steady, vertical pose. The thin, silver blade stood proudly, as the boy took several long breaths to calm his raging nerves.

"You are still losing yourself way too easily, Lucien! You are nothing more than a rabid wolf… halfway through your charge, you completely gave in to your urges, losing all sense and technique in the process!" Pulling the boy out of his abrupt trance, Sera's berating tone rang in his ears.

Opening his eyes, he looked at the woman respectfully, lowering his gaze a moment later, and giving a slight nod.

"Yes… I know… Sorry…" He muttered, not daring the match her gaze. "It's not easy… I can feel this unquenchable thirst, this unconquerable desire… It's not easy to reign in the 'other one'…"

Seeing the wronged look of the boy, Sera sighed, combing her blonde locks. Her stern look eased up, as the gentle, kind smile returned to her face, she stepped over to the boy. She reached out, patting his right shoulder as she spoke with a lighter, warmer tone.

"Don't worry Lucien, I know how hard it is to control this… gift of yours."

Before she could continue, Lucien couldn't help but snort at her phrasing. "Gift? Yeah right… Not so sure about that…"

Hearing his words and tone, Sera wasn't offended, she simply returned his grieve with a smile.

"I understand why you feel like that, I really do. I also hope that later, you will realize how incredible this… hmm… Let's say the unique trait you have is. Even though you are still hesitant to merge with your other self, and have this wariness whenever you talk about him…" She sighed, suddenly deciding against continuing her line of thought and simply whispered, mostly to herself. "Hopefully you will come to terms with yourself at some point."

She gave a light-hearted pat on the back of the boy, before she stepped away, creating some distance between them once more.

"Anyway… We should continue, you still have much to learn! Or you don't want to venture out after lunch anymore?" She spoke with a teasing tone, her short sword already raised in a horizontal guarding stance. She flashed a cheeky smile, looking at the boy expectantly from the distance.

Matching her gaze, Lucien slowly stepped back, entering into the same battle poise that she taught her. He took another breather, clearing his mind of all the unnecessary clutter, and reinforcing his focus on the blonde woman standing ahead.

Just as she taught him, he took long breaths and made sure to slowly exhale them after a couple of heartbeat's time. This would calm not just his racing mind, but also his body and soul, and would make sure that his focus would be on the battle and not on anything else.

As the used-up air slowly left his lungs, only to be replaced by the fresh oxygen, he felt the cool sensation of calmness slowly but surely spread throughout his body, reaching all the crevices, nooks, and crannies of his body, easing the stress of his constrained strands of muscles, giving him a soothing, restorative feeling.

Unbeknownst to him, his previously chaotic, hungering aura he emitted slowly began to reform and stabilize. His foundation, the basis of his current and future power slowly began to build up, creating the roots of his future power.

There were still many parts that Lucien didn't understand completely. While he had a slight inkling that the Rank was something relevant to this intangible energy that he had inside him, he had no idea what the "Power Stage" and the term "Dredger" covered, nor did he understood that true meaning behind the Synchronization at all…

No, to be fair, one could say that he barely knew anything at all. Other than the feeling of growth when his Strength, Agility, or Stamina reached a new milestone, he had no idea about almost anything displayed by the system.

Feeling that the troubling thoughts were returning once more, Lucien breathed in a large gasp of air again, stored it in his diaphragm for a couple of ticks, before slowly exhaling. Troubling thoughts such as these had no place in the forefront of his mind right now, he needed to concentrate, and focus on their duel.

He needed to concentrate, he didn't want to lose himself once again in this blood-thirsty frenzy that haunted him. No, this time he wouldn't fail, he wouldn't give in to the seeping darkness!

A determined look appeared on his face, a glint flashed through his dark bead-like eyes. He looked at Sera standing ready a dozen or so feet away, the doubts slowly but surely vanished from his look, leaving behind nothing but his own conviction.

Despite the distance, Sera was paying attention to the tiniest of changes in the boy. She could feel as his chaotic, turbulent aura slowly calmed down, she saw the change in his eyes. Her smirk stretched into a smile, she asked out.

"Are you ready now, Lucien?"

Before Lucien could respond, he was surprised once again, as suddenly the bell-like sound rang inside his mind, and a message abruptly appeared in front of his vision.

[…::: Due to the host's arduous efforts and determination the new passive skill (Weapon Mastery - Rank 1) has been synthesized. :::…]

However, this wasn't the only shocking message that popped up. Shortly after there was another, more shocking one. However, this second one, came with no real explanation, causing a twitch to appear on Lucien's face.

[…::: New skill comprehended! The active skill (Spiritual Slash - Rank 1) has been synthesized. :::…]